International and Domestic Defense Against Cyber Attacks

The United States is extensively and increasingly dependent on the internet and other internet-like networks (collectively referred to as "cyberspace") to enable and support innumerable economic, social and government activities. The same is true of many other countries. Thus cyberspace itself has become a critical global infrastructure, as well as being an important component of other critical infrastructures such as electric power, banking and finance.  A case can be made that these critical infrastructures operationally define every modern society.

Unfortunately, the networks of cyberspace are deeply riddled with flaws and vulnerabilities that are being, or could be, exploited by an unprecedented spectrum of malicious parties. These flaws are also the basis of irresponsible actions by non-malicious parties, further raising issues of safety and reliability, not just national security. Almost every person and place in the U.S. is subject to disruptions that range from identity theft and other low-level economic impacts to those that could have major national and homeland security consequences. The increasing use of internet IP based networks as a replacement for protected legacy telecommunication infrastructure and services makes the potential adverse consequences even more severe.

It is in the national interest to make cyberspace safer and more secure. In this session the speakers will discuss how government interventions and other mechanisms can provide more protection than new technology and existing markets currently do.

The AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy has invited Seymour Goodman, Ph.D., Professor of International Affairs and Computing at Georgia Tech and recent chair of the National Research Council's Committee on Improving Cybersecurity Research in the United States; Stephen Lukasik, Ph.D., formerly vice president of several major high tech companies, Director of DARPA, and Chief Scientist of the FCC; and Anthony Rutkowski, JD, Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs at VeriSign, and a former senior staff member at the FCC and the International Telecommunication Union to discuss these and other questions on cyber security.